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Wednesday, 16 August 2006 04:57 |
W. Asheville woman IDëd as victim in remains case
Human remains found at two locations in Asheville in the past three weeks were identified as Kelly Lane Smith, 35, of West Asheville, the Asheville Police Department announced last Thursday.
The identification was made via a search through the FBIës national fingerprint database, police said.
The investigation began with the discovery of skeletal remains, including a skull and other human bones, in the French Broad River behind Highwater Clays at 600 Riverside Drive on July 31. The skull showed signs that the woman had undergone a craniotomy, or surgical incision into the head.
| Jessica Smith
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A
second set of remain were found Aug. 7 by Jessica Smith, who reported
to police that she came upon the remains in a culvert, including an arm
and two hands, while walking her friendës dog near West Haywood and
Roberts streets, just south of the Smoky Park Bridge. The parts found
in the culvert reportedly appeared to be cleanly ÇƒÓ perhaps medically ǃÓ
cut.
The two sets of
remains were about a mile apart, officials said, who noted that the
skull and other parts found amount to far less than a complete body.
Smith "had a
significant history of arrests for prostitution offenses, drug
offenses, theft and forgery," police noted. Her daughter Nikki, 7, had
been adopted by her father George Smith and his late wife.
An intensive
investigation is underway. Detectives have what police termed
"significant leads," but a suspect has not been identified.
Anyone who has information on the case is asked to call the Asheville police at 259-5928, or Crime Stoppers at 255-5050.
Woman given prison term
for having sex with inmate
Edith Pope, a
former Department of Correction official from Asheville, was sentenced
on Aug. 8 to 22 to 36 months behind bars ÇƒÓ depending on her behavior in
prison ÇƒÓ for having sex with an inmate.
In handing down
the sentence, Superior Court Judge Ronald Payne cited the potential for
a breach of security. Moreover, the judge said he felt his only option
was to give Pope an active prison term because of the danger stemming
from her sexual relationship with a convicted murderer serving a life
sentence at Craggy Correctional Center.
The public is
endangered by sex between custodians and inmates because weapons can be
smuggled into the prison, as well as the potential for escapes and
hostage situations, the judge noted. He also cited evidence that the
prisoner in the Pope case had been given access to the prison computer
system and had downloaded a schematic of the faciltyës layout on a CD
that was later found in the defendantës home.
Pope, 49, who
served as assistant superintendent for programs at Craggy, had pleaded
guilty to seven counts of sexual activity by a custodian in Buncombe
County Superior Court on Aug. 3.
During the Aug.
8 sentencing hearing, Assistant District Attorney Paul Jackson alleged
that Pope had sex at least 10 times with inmate Shane Smith, who served
as Popeës office assistant from fall 2004 through spring 2005. Smith is
serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, arson and burglary.
Pope admitted to the affair after her husband found an incriminating letter from the prisoner, the prosecutor noted.
Moreover, Pope
and her husband showed up at the Buncombe Sheriffës Department on May
31, 2005, alleging that Smith had raped her, Jackson said. When Pope
was asked to take a polygraph test, she admitted the sex was
consensual, the prosecutor pointed out.
Conversely,
defense attorney Sean Devereux sought a suspended sentence for his
client, noting that Popeës actions were extremely uncharacteristic of
the married mother of three children.
A plea agreement
with the prosecutors resulted in Pope being sentenced on just two of
seven counts of sexual activity by a custodian. She could have received
up to 39 months in prison on each count, officials said.
Ex-UNCA student, 20, dies
in head-on Merrimon crash
Miles Wipper,
20, died when his northbound car crested a hill and crossed onto the
left side of Merrimon Avenue, crashing head-on into an ice cream truck
on Clairmont Avenue about 7:23 a.m. Aug. 8.
Wipper
reportedly moved to the area from Chapel Hill in 2004 to study at UNC
Asheville. However, school officials said he no longer was enrolled
there. Police said they did not know where Wipper was living.
The other driver, Nathaniel Shoup, 24, of Hickory was not injured. Shoup was driving a Blue Bell Ice Cream truck.
Earlier that day, Wipper had been charged by UNCA campus police with possession of alcohol by a person under 21.
Officer Shannon Green had observed Wipper walking down the schoolës main entrance towards W.T. Weaver Boulevard about 2 a.m.
Upon stopping
Wipper, Green observed a large bulge in his front pocket and searched
him "for officer safety," according to police reports.
During the
search, Green reportedly detected a strong smell of alcohol and asked
Wipper to submit to an Alco Sensor test, which he refused.
In the police
report, Green noted that he believed Wipper was under the influence of
alcohol, based on his training and experience and, therefore, issued
him a state citation for possession of a malt beverage by a person
under 21.
2 defendants plead guilty,
given sentences in shooting
Two defendants
charged in a shootout at Hillcrest Apartments pleaded guilty and were
sentenced on Aug. 7 in Buncombe County Superior Court.
As children
played outside and adults were holding cookouts, the men allegedly
fired about 40 rounds into the public housing complex on April 2.
In the aftermath, a woman suffered shotgun wounds to her neck and chest, although the wounds were not deemed severe.
Trey Aaron
Summers, 20, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting
serious injury and discharging a weapon into occupied property.
He was sentenced
to 20 to 33 months in prison, but all but 90 days of the sentenced was
suspended for three years. Summers also was placed under supervised
probation.
Meanwhile, Brandon Lanier Priester, 16, pleaded guilty to discharging a weapon into occupied property.
Priester was
sentenced to 20 to 32 months in prison, with all but 30 days suspended
for three years. He also was placed under supervised probation. Judge
Ronald Payne told Priester that he is fortunate that nobody was
seriously injured or killed.
Another defendant in the case, Dakota James Mayfield, 20, pleaded guilty last month.
Cases still
pending in the shooting includes those of Jamal Antione Graves, 22, and
Roy Antwan Leake, 21, both of whom are charged with assault with a
deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and discharging a weapon into
occupied property.
Burnesville man sentenced
in rape of 12-year-old girl
James Hardin
McPeters, 39, of Burnsville was sentenced to more than 13 years in
prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
McPeters pleaded
guilty last week in Buncombe County Superior Court to second-degree
rape, second-degree sex offense and three counts of taking indecent
liberties with a minor.
The atttacks
occurred in December and January in a Buncombe group home where
McPeters was a patient, according to Assistant District Attorney Paul
Jackson.
McPetersë defense attorney noted that the defendant has an extensive history of mental illness.
In a plea
arrangement, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of first-degree rape
and first-degree sex offense in exchange for the guilty plea. The
girlës mother agreed to the plea bargain, so that the victim would not
have to testify.
Methamphetamine charges
filed against Canton man
Officers with
the Metropolitan Enforcement Group arrested Stacie Lee Glance, 22, on
Aug. 2 on two counts of manufacturing, possessing and trafficking
methamphetamines.
Glance was allegedly caught with between 200 grams and 400 grams of the substance.
He was being held in lieu of a $30,000 bond at the Buncombe County Detention Center.
Baby was abused, autopsy
indicates, action pondered
ARDEN ÇƒÓ The
death of nine-week--old Jayden Gaddis was a homicide caused by shaken
baby syndrome, a final autopsy recently indicated.
Whatës more, the
infant was a victim of child abuse and suffered rib fractures that had
partially healed, according to an autopsy issued by the Office of the
Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill.
No criminal
charges have been filed and more than a year has passed since the
infantës mother found her baby not breathing and called 911.
Buncombe County
District Attorney Ron Moore recently noted that his office had been
awaiting the autopsy results ÇƒÓ and is investigating what the next step
might be in the case.
The childës
parents, Krystal Bowers, 21, and Justin Gaddis, 29, were with the child
on the afternoon of July 4, 2005, when the mother stepped out of their
unit ÇƒÓ for a breather ÇƒÓ at Pine Needle Apartments in Arden for a few
minutes.
She told investigators that when she returned, she found the child unresponsive and Gaddis said the infant might have vomited.
Warning on common scams
issued to Asheville citizens
The Asheville
Police Department recently issued warnings regarding two common mail
and e-mail scams that have been circulating recently.
Many residents
of Asheville received letters in the mail about "European lottery
programs." Frequently these letters use the correct name and address
for the resident.
These scams
inform the "winner" that they have won a specific amount of money,
according to police spokesman John Dankel. What looks like a legitimate
check for a portion of the winnings is included with the notification
letter. Instructions direct the "winner" to contact a lottery agent for
instructions on how to remit their "tax and clearance fees" so they can
receive their lottery winnings., he said.
Typically the
recipients are directed by the "agent" to wire money ÇƒÓ after they have
deposited the fake check into their personal account ÇƒÓ to someone
outside the country.
They are told they will then receive their portion of the prize money, less a percentage for the agent or sponsor commission.
A day or so
after it is deposited into the personës account the bank will discover
the check is fake and the account will be debited for that amount.
Unfortunately, the victim has frequently already wired the money to the
scam artist and there is no practical way to get it back, Dankel noted.
"Winners" also
are warned in the letter to keep their winnings "absolutely
confidential" to avoid unauthorized persons or organizations from
contacting them about their new-found wealth.
None of the
information in the letter is true, according to police. Persons
receiving these letters are urged to discard them immediately.
Regarding
another common fraudulent scheme, the APD noted on July 15 that the FBI
is receiving renewed complaints about an e-mail scam that first
surfaced sometime in 2004.
People are receiving official-looking e-mails, purportedly from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The e-mail
claims a personës bank accounts are no longer eligible for FDIC
insurance because of suspected violations of the USA PATRIOT Act,
Dankel said.
The message also
says this issue can be resolved by clicking on a link provided in the
e-mail and providing a great deal of personal information. Supposedly,
after the information is verified, the accounts will once again be
eligible for FDIC insurance. There is also an implication that failure
to provide the "required" information will result in further
investigation and possibly a visit from federal agents.
These e-mails,
and all like them, are scams, Dankel said. Persons who respond and
provide the requested information risk having their identity stolen and
misused and they place funds in their banks accounts at risk for theft.
Government agencies and legitimate banks do not request this sort of information by e-mail, Dankel stressed.
All such
requests should be regarded as scams and the e-mails should be
immediately deleted without opening any attachments. Those with any
doubts or questions may contact the bank or government agency directly
by telephone, Dankel said.
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